Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Union Hotel · Photo: Doug Kerr from Upstate New York · CC BY-SA 2.0The biggest trail networks: Sackets Harbor Battlefield State Historic Site (1.3 mi). 28 miles of mapped trail cross Hounsfield, 0.6 per square mile of land. 38% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 59% of U.S. towns · #455 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hounsfield is ahead of 59% of U.S. towns, #455 of 758 in New York. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
Water is more than half of Hounsfield’s area (71 of 120 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 2%.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
The longest trail network is Sackets Harbor Battlefield State Historic Site, with 1.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
4% of Hounsfield’s land. Water is left out: Hounsfield has 49.0 square miles of land and 71.5 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Hounsfield’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 95 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 16 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dexter Marsh Wma State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 825 | Open |
| Sackets Harbor Battlefield State Historic Site State Historic or Cultural Area | State parks | 91 | Open |
| Lake Ontario Islands Wma State Resource Management Area | State conservation | 75 | Open |
| Ldc State Park | Land trusts & nonprofits | 45 | Open |
| Galloo Island State Conservation Area | State conservation | 27 | Restricted |
| Robert G. Wehle State Park State Park | State parks | 14 | Open |
| Sackets Harbor Village of Land Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Unknown |
| Gull Island Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State conservation | 4 | Restricted |
| Hounsfield Town Lands Local Resource Management Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 2 | Open |
| Westcott Beach State Park State Park | State parks | 1 | Open |
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Plus 1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
4 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 scenic view without a name on the map.
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
6 more on the History page.
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°F) | 30 | 31 | 40 | 53 | 65 | 75 | 79 | 78 | 71 | 59 | 47 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 3.7 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 4.6 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Hounsfield →
Hounsfield has the most mapped trails of the 7 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hounsfield | 4% | 0.6 | 30 | 38% | B |
| Henderson | 9% | 0.7 | 1,378 | 46% | A− |
| Brownville | 7% | 0.1 | 33 | 45% | B− |
| Dexter | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Watertown | 1% | 0.1 | 19 | 20% | C |
| Lyme | 14% | under 0.1 | 471 | 50% | B |
| Adams | 2% | under 0.1 | 52 | 56% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
The longest trail networks: Sackets Harbor Battlefield State Historic Site, 1.3 miles; Galloo Island, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
4% of its land, against a typical 5% for a New York town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Sackets Harbor Battlefield State Historic Site and Dexter Marsh Wildlife Management Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
27,670 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hounsfield or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 254 of them inside the town line.
Ahead of 59% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #455 of 758 in New York. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Hounsfield neighbors.
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →